Nat Gould

Sir John Edensor Heathcote 1757-1822

John Edensor Heathcote was born in 1757, the son of Michael Heathcote 1710-1777 and his wife formerly Rachel Edensor 1714-1791.

Longton Hall

In 1777 he purchased Longton Hall near Stoke-upon-Trent in Staffordshire, and married Anne Gresley, the sister of Sir Nigel Gresley of Drakelow.

The wedding took place on 3 January 1780 at Walcot near Bath. He was knighted in 1784 and in the same year became High Sheriff of Staffordshire.

Longton in those days was a growing town, close by Stoke-upon-Trent, with which it was eventually to unite, along with the other Six Towns, as the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Originally Longton had been known as Lane End, but the name was changed as not befitting the dignity and importance of the growing industrial borough.

The hall was situated on rising ground two miles from the town, and was described in 1843 as being “a large and handsome brick and stone-built mansion in the style of architecture which prevailed in the reign of Queen Anne. It has three principal fronts, one of which is shown ... taken from a drawing by the late Lady Elizabeth Heathcote (1), and is seated in the midst of a well-wooded demesne, of considerable extent and beauty”.

Longton Hall was demolished in 1939 and the site is now occupied by a modernistic church serving a housing estate. The stables and other outhouses still exist and were probably built when John Edensor Heathcote extensively modified the hall after purchasing it 1777. The famous Longton Hall porcelain manufactory is thought to have previously occupied the same site.

From 1777 Sir John Edensor Heathcote became a major industrialist in Staffordshire. He bought substantial mining concessions in the Potteries area, paying for them by selling his properties in Derbyshire inherited from his father.

Among these were the Buxton estate that he sold in 1788 to the Duke of Devonshire (2), who was then actively building up his property in the town at the time of constructing the Crescent there that had been begun in 1779. The landowning Heathcote family have long departed from Buxton, but they are still commemorated in the area they once owned by the names Cote Heath, Heath Grove, Heath Street, and Heath Park Road.

Sir John Edensor Heathcote died on 25 October 1822, his wife Lady Heathcote (formerly Anne Gresley) having predeceased him on 28 September 1797.

Their children were (3):

Richard Edensor Heathcote. Born in 1780 and died in 1850.
John Heathcote. Born in 1782 and died in 1851. He married Emma Tudor.
Frances Heathcote. Born probably in 1783. She married her cousin Dr Richard Bent, son of James Justin Bent 1739-1812 and his wife nee Elizabeth Heathcote 1753-1814.
Louisa Wilmot Heathcote. Born in 1784.
Maria Heathcote. Born in 1785. Died young.
Nigel William Heathcote. Born in 1786 and died in 1866.
Henry Heathcote. Born in 1788 and died in 1829.
Caroline Heathcote. Born in 1795 and died in 1862. She married Charles Stisted.
Selina Heathcote. Born in 1796.
Charles Bowyer Adderley Heathcote. Born in 1797 and died in 1844.

(1) Lady Elizabeth Heathcote was the daughter-in-law of Sir John Edensor Heathcote and second wife of his son and heir. She had died in August 1825 aged only 44 years.
(2) Estate Documents at Chatsworth L/44/3.
(3) "They had twelve children, of whom the eldest Richard Edensor Heathcote, esq. succeeded his father at Longton Hall ..." "The Admission Register of the Manchester School" volume 1 (1730-1775) published in 1867 page 185. That, however, seems to be incorrect. The meticulously researched pedigree in "An Account of some of the Families bearing the name of Heathcote which have descended out of the County of Derby" by the Reverend Evelyn D. Heathcote (1899) gives on pages 199 and 200 a total of ten children, including "A daughter, died young" (page 200) namely Maria Heathcote.